A great mid-range phone that's loaded with features

Solid performance, great display, helpful AI, but nothing revolutionary — the Samsung Galaxy A36 5G is a safe bet in a competitive mid-range market

- Husain Rizvi [e-mail]

In a market saturated with phones that blur the line between budget and premium, Samsung's Galaxy A36 5G aims to find its footing in the mid-range categoryand largely succeeds.

But in 2025, "largely" may not cut it when competitor brands like Xiaomi, OnePlus, and Motorola are aggressively upping the ante.

Design and display: Familiar, but polished

Let's start with what Samsung does best - the screen. The A36 sports a 6.7-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and brightness that can hit up to 1,200 nits. It's bright, smooth, and makes scrolling through social media or watching Netflix feel premium. Still, this is par for the course in this price bracket. Devices like the OnePlus Nord 3 and Poco X6 Pro offer similarly fluid OLED displays, often at a slightly lower price point.

Aesthetically, the A36 keeps things clean. It borrows a lot from its more expensive cousins, with flat edges, Gorilla Glass Victus+ protection, and an IP67 rating for water and dust resistance. The phone feels durable but light at 195g — although the plastic frame reminds you this isn't a flagship.

Performance: Dependable, not dazzling